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Monday, October 26, 2015

Dear Readers, when I
first saw the cover of this book, I knew I wanted to feature the author on the
blog. So here she is.

Welcome, Kristi. Tell
us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

There’s an element of myself in Miranda. As a more creative
type growing up in a family of engineers there were times when I definitely
felt a bit out of sync with the rest of my family. Beyond a basic idea, though,
Miranda was her own character, and I loved getting to learn about her.

What is the quirkiest
thing you have ever done?

My husband claims the quirkiest thing I’ve ever done is
dance the lambada in a fish tank on Jupiter in the fall. As I have a very
strong dislike of fish, I don’t think I’ve ever actually done that. Also given
that answer, it’s entirely possible that the quirkiest thing I’ve ever done is
marry my loving, supportive, and slightly dorky husband.

When did you first
discover that you were a writer?

The first time I considered the idea of writing books was
when an author came to my third grade class and told us the book we’d read had
started as a writing project for his fifth grade English class. It was a dream
I toyed with for years after that. It wasn’t until about five years ago that I
realized I could actually do it.

Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I’m definitely a romance junkie, and I float around the
various romance genres most of the time. I do enjoy the occasional fantasy,
though, and on even rarer occasions an adventure novel.

How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?

I don’t. Sanity is highly over-rated.

I say that as a joke but there’s a certain amount of truth
to it. As much as I would love to have a smoothly running, organized life, I
don’t think I’ll ever be there even on my best day. It means boiling it down to
what really matters and what has to get done. Prioritize and know that your
life doesn’t have to match anyone else’s.

So true. How do you
choose your characters’ names?

There are lists of typical names for the time period. I
start there and play around with combinations until one fits with the character
in my head. Sometimes none of the names fit and I start picking pieces of
different names and smashing them together until it works. For titles, I have
an old book of English location names that I like to play around with.

What is the
accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Signing my contract with Bethany House was a pretty exciting
moment, I must say. Seeing my name on a book cover was astounding.

I think the thing I’m most proud of, though, is that I
actually wrote the thing in the first place. Writing a book is something I
first attempted in elementary school. I started several books over the years,
but never finished. To actually complete a book and then write another and
another, well, that’s a pretty big accomplishment.

As a side note, my husband wanted me to list marrying him as
the answer for this question, too.

And I’m sure it would
be a very good answer, too. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and
why?

I think I’d be a horse. When you look at horses at lot of
the beauty comes from the fact that they look impossible. Svelte legs holding
up powerful bodies and majestic heads. While physically I don’t have the power,
grace, or appearance of a horse, I love the essence of them. They are so
perfectly constructed that it’s obvious God designed them. I want to own those
qualities as well.

What is your favorite
food?

My first instinct is to say chocolate because that is my
go-to treat, but I’m also a really big fan of pizza. Fortunately my husband is
not so that keeps us from eating it too often.

What is the problem
with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Realizing that the delete button was my friend. It took me a
very long time to admit that the first four chapters of my first book were back
story and needed to be scrapped. I think learning to edit and being willing to
edit is one of the most essential skills of a successful writer.

Rewrites and edits
aren’t a favorite of mine, but they are so essential to help us become the
authors God created us to be. Tell us about the featured book.

Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside
longs to be bold and carefree. To help her cope with her emotions, she pours
her innermost feelings out in letters to her brother’s old school friend, the
Duke of Marshington. Of course, she has no intention of ever sending these
letters as that would be highly improper, but when her brother’s new valet,
Marlow, mistakenly mails one of the letters, her world spins into upheaval.

Shockingly, this leads to a lively correspondence with the
duke even as Miranda becomes close to Marlow. Insecurity from her impending
spinsterhood soon shifts into confusion as Miranda finds her feelings growing
for two men—one she’s never met but whose words touch her heart, and one she
has come to depend on but would never fit in her world. When Marlow’s behavior
becomes more and more suspicious, Miranda realizes that she’s landed in the
middle of state secrets and intrigue, and more than her heart is at risk.

Please give us the
first page of the book.

(I didn’t know if you wanted the Prologue or Chapter One.
I’ve included both first pages.)

Prologue

Hertfordshire, England, 1800

It is never a happy day when an eight-year-old girl’s
cheesecake lands in the dirt, and she certainly doesn’t take kindly to the
laughing little boy who put it there.

Fat tears welled up in Lady Miranda Hawthorne’s eyes as she
stared at the cake now resting forlornly on the ground. Her little hands curled
into angry fists at her sides.

“You’re a cad, Henry Lampton!” Miranda scooped the cake from
the ground and hurled it at the laughing boy, her cheeks wet with tears. There
was something satisfying about seeing the creamy dessert smear across his shirt
and the smile fall from his face.

Miranda didn’t have long to relish her revenge because her
mother appeared to lead her away from the party. Mother didn’t say a word until
the door closed behind them, shutting them into her study.

“Miranda, a lady never expresses her disappointment in
public.” Mother’s admonition was gentle but firm, as it always was.

Even though she knew her mother meant well, Miranda
shuddered every time she heard the words, “Miranda, a lady never…” Occasionally
it was “Miranda, a lady always…” but even then it was something like “Miranda,
a lady always pays attention to her guests, even when she finds them boring.”

Miranda knew better than to speak as he mother lectured.
Every time she tried to defend herself, it only made the torture last longer.
So she waited until her mother dismissed her.

Instead of returning to the party, however, she ran to her
room and threw herself on the bed, punching the pillow at the unfairness of it
all.

Chapter One

Hertfordshire, England

Autumn 1812

Lady Miranda Hawthorne would support her sister tonight,
even if it killed her. Judging by the pain already numbing her face, that was a
distinct possibility. She massaged her cheeks, hoping to make the forced smile
look and feel a little less wooden than the bedroom door in front of her.

With a sharp twist of the brass knob, she wrenched the door
open and strode into the corridor. Her stride was firm. Her posture perfect.
Nothing would make her abandon the endless lessons in ladylike etiquette from
her mother.

Then she walked into a wall.

Oh, very well, it wasn’t a wall precisely. Walls didn’t
appear in the middle of passageways, covered in wool.

“I do apologize, my lady.”

Nor did they speak.

Miranda looked up at the obstruction that was in actuality a
solidly built man. She retreated a step, putting as much distance between her
and the man without retreating into her bedchamber. Up and up her gaze
traveled.

The last dredges of sunlight filtered through a large window
at the end of the corridor, sending dim squares of gold marching across the
floor and up to the man’s broad chest.

He wasn’t family. All of her relations had blond hair,
including those so far distant they wouldn’t even claim the connection if her
brother wasn’t a duke. The dimly lit passageway prevented her from making out
an exact color, but the “barricade” before her had very dark hair pulled back
into a short queue at his neck.

With a deep breath, she reminded herself where she stood in
life. She was a lady of quality. The daughter, and sister, of a duke. Somewhere
in her must lie the aristocratic arrogance she’d seen so many of her friends
embody. If this intruder had nefarious purposes, talking was her only defense.
Those long arms could haul her to a stop before she went more than two steps.

I’m intrigued, and I’m
sure my readers are, too. How can readers find you on the Internet?

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"A Noble Masquerade" has been on my want-to-read-lost since it's first come out. I've read many different author interviews & I think Kristi sounds like a wonderful writer. This is one book I AM going to read...one way or another :-) Thanks for the chance to win and the interview! Blessings!

I love love love the premise of this book! My parents met through letters so I have a special place in my heart for stories about them. I am really looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the interview and giveaway!

This sounds like a delightful romp back in history. This character sounds like a lot of fun. And though not a "lady" highborn, my mother and grandmother always tried to instill lots of lady qualities in me. Mother and Dad also fell in love via a letter writing acquaintance.

Thank you, Lena, for another great interview! I especially appreciate that you introduce us to the author and let us read the first page. I am anxious to read more!Blessings,Connie from KYcps1950(at)gmail(dot)com

Kristi Ann, My husband and I went on only a few dates before he left to do missions work in a foreign country. We wrote letters to each other for the six months he was gone, then about six weeks after he returned home he asked me to marry him! I think we knew pretty quick that we were meant to be together. :-)